Asian Pacific Heritage Month 2010: Scott Kim

May 1, 2010

Scott Kim is a special agent with Diplomatic Security, after working as an attorney in New York City. He is currently a DS desk officer for South and Central Asia, supporting security programs at 18 posts and over 55 regional security officers (RSOs) throughout SCA.

Mr. Kim started his career in 1999 at the Los Angeles field office, where he participated in several complex criminal investigations, completed temporary assignments in Israel, Macedonia and Indonesia and supported many overseas visits by the Secretary of State. His first overseas assignment was as an assistant regional security officer (ARSO) in Algiers. During this tour, Algeria experienced a 6.8 magnitude earthquake, the largest in two decades. With thousands reported dead or injured, including several Foreign Service National colleagues, he gained first-hand experience in crisis management.

Next, Mr. Kim served as a team leader in the Office of Mobile Security Deployments, the tactical support unit for DS. He led teams to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Haiti, Iraq and Liberia. While in Monrovia supporting the first female president of an African nation, he coordinated security support for her inaugural ceremony, also attended by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and First Lady Laura Bush.

Mr. Kim considers his next overseas assignment in Seoul both professionally and personally rewarding. He seized the opportunity to reconnect culturally and sharpen his Korean language skills. He also faced many challenges, including unprecedented levels of anti-U.S. protests and demonstrations (numbering in the hundreds of thousands) and continuing provocations between North and South Korea, including a North Korean missile launch during the 2009 July 4th Embassy event.

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